How to escape from this prison
by LibraryMage
Summary: Ezra has been held captive by Maul for over three months, and he's nearing his breaking point. Sequel to "I'll never be what you want" and "The struggle's only just begun." Written for the Bad Things Happen bingo prompt "captivity."


warning for: child abuse; solitary confinement; references to past character death

* * *

Ezra had no idea where he was.

At some point, Maul had moved him from the asteroid base to this place. He'd been drugged, and when he began to wake up while being transported, he found himself blindfolded, his hands cuffed behind his back. He'd barely woken up before a hypospray was pressed against his arm and the darkness surged up around him again.

He'd woken up in the cell he was in now.

He paced the length of the cell, ignoring the scrape of the chain around his ankle against the floor. He'd long since become used to the sound. By his count and the information Maul had given him, he'd been here for two months. Add that to the six weeks he'd spent on the asteroid base, and it had been three and a half months since he lost everything.

He didn't know how much more of this he could take. He was starting to see things. Small hints of movement in the corner of his eye that made his heart stop before he realized there was nothing there. He didn't know if Maul was causing it or if it was just the isolation.

He _never_ left the cell. He hadn't seen sunlight or breathed fresh air in over three months. He rarely even saw Maul. He would wake up from a fitful sleep to find a ration bar and a small amount of water left for him, but the times he actually saw and spoke to his captor were so few that he would catch himself actually _hoping_ to see the man who'd murdered his family, to talk to him just for a few minutes so he wouldn't have to spend another hour completely alone.

Ezra stopped pacing and sat down in the corner, pulling his knees up to his chest and hugging his arms around them as tears began stinging at his eyes. Weeks ago, his greatest wish had been to see his family again; to wake up on the _Ghost_ and realize that this had all been a nightmare. Now, all he wanted was to leave this cell, and he was prepared to do anything to get what he wanted.

He didn't know how long he sat there, huddled in the corner, crying. For all he knew, hours passed before he jumped at the sound of the door opening. He quickly wiped away his tears, pressing himself farther back into the corner as he looked up at Maul. Even as he began shaking, sheer relief flooded through him at the sight of Maul, of _any_ sentient being.

Maul set a small cup filled with water on the floor in front of Ezra, who stared down at it blankly for a moment. Not long ago, he would have stubbornly refused to drink, at least in front of Maul, insisting he didn't want anything from him. Now, he just picked it up and quickly gulped down its contents, setting the cup down on the floor and shrinking back into his corner again.

"Please let me out," he said, his voice weak. "Please. Just for five minutes. I can't – I –"

His voice broke off and he rested his forehead on his knees. He didn't want to beg Maul for anything, but his desperation to leave the cell for just a few minutes outweighed his pride.

"Please," he muttered.

"You know what you need to do if you want to leave," Maul said.

Ezra let out a long, shuddering breath, tightening his arms around his knees, pressing himself into a tighter ball. He knew. Maul hadn't said it in so many words, but he knew exactly what he had to do before he would be allowed to leave the cell.

Ezra let out a harsh, humorless laugh as his fingers tangled in his hair, his nails raking at his scalp.

"What else am I supposed to do?" he asked, speaking more to himself than to Maul. "Just stay locked up here until I die? Where the kriff am I going to _go_? You were right. You're the only one left."

Slowly, he raised his head until he was looking at Maul, tears brimming at the corners of his eyes once again.

"Please, let me out…" he hesitated for only a moment, forcing the word out past a heavy lump in his throat, "…Master."

Maul's hand twitched and the cuff around Ezra's ankle sprang open. He lunged to his feet and pushed past Maul into the corridor outside of his cell. He braced his hand against the opposite wall, his tears now streaming down his face as his breath coming in ragged gasps as if he'd just run for miles. He didn't care that the wall he was facing looked exactly like the bare stone walls of his cell. He didn't care that he felt as though his throat was closing up at the mere thought of what he'd just done. He didn't care that guilt churned in his stomach as he practically heard Kanan's voice in his head telling him he was a traitor.

At least he was out of that kriffing cell.

At least he was free.


End file.
